Review: The Body Shop Vitamin E Hydrating Toner

The Body Shop Vitamin E Hydrating Toner

From http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com:

Best if you want to: Remove the last traces of cleanser, dirt and make-up while softening your skin with a gentle, conditioning facial toner.

How it works:

• Vitamin E is a natural antioxidant that moisturizes and helps to protect against premature aging and environmental aggressors by neutralizing free radicals.
• Wheat germ oil, a rich natural source of vitamin E, moisturizes, nourishes and helps to condition skin.
• Contains no added color or dyes, so it is suitable for sensitive skin.

My Skin Type:
Actually very oily, but surpressed with BHA exfoliator. Results in generally ranging from very dry to normal/combo skin. Generally dehydrated, very sensitive, and acne prone.

Packaging:
Opaque plastik pink packaging. Cute! Travel friendly and easy to use to And the fact that you can return the empty packaging to TBS for them to recycle is a major plus point for me.

Texture:
Typical toner….liquid.

My General Review:
I bought this toner long time ago to match the cream cleanser from the same range. Just like the cleanser, even though it claimed to be good for all skin types, it’s really better for normal/dry to dry skin.

One thing I noted from this product is it’s rather sticky. Perhaps due to the glycerin? It’s moisturizing but not as much as my beloved PC Skin Recovery Toner. It contains small amount of Vitamin E…again not as good assortment of antioxidants compared to PC SR Toner. Mildly fragranced too, so it’s not best for my sensitive skin.

Overall and okay toner, but not the best. It doesn’t cut it out for me.

Application:
I usually pat it in with my fingers, after cleansing.

Availability:
Easily available at TBS stores in malls and department stores.

Price:
I don’t know the price now, but I bought this long time ago for IDR99,ooo (~US$10) for 200ml. Currently it’s sold at US$12 at TBS website.

Ingredients:
Aqua (Water) (Solvent/Diluent), Glycerin (Humectant), PPG-26-Buteth-26 (Emulsifier), PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil (Emulsifier), Phenoxyethanol (Preservative), Polysorbate 20 (Emulsifier), Diglycerin (Humectant), Tocopheryl Acetate (Antioxidant), Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Carbomer (Stabiliser/Viscosity Modifier), Xanthan Gum (Viscosity Modifier), Parfum (Fragrance), Disodium EDTA (Chelating Agent), Triticum vulgare (Wheat Germ Oil) (Emollient), Citric Acid (pH Adjuster), Sodium Hydroxide (pH Adjuster), Citronellol (Fragrance Ingredient), Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone (Fragrance Ingredient), Linalool (Fragrance Ingredient), Geraniol (Fragrance Ingredient), Limonene (Fragrance Ingredient), Citral (Fragrance Ingredient), Benzyl Alcohol (Preservative), Eugenol (Fragrance Ingredient), Farnesol (Fragrance Ingredient).

Overall Rating:
4 out of 5. Okay toner, but PC SR Toner wins in every aspect. PC is more moisturizing for my dry skin, yet it’s non-sticky (unlike this Vitamin E Toner). Plus, PC’s formulation is more advanced, and it’s fragrance free so it’s best for my dry skin.

*This review will be cross posted in http://www.makeupalley.com under username Crescent_Shadow.

Review: The Body Shop Vitamin E Cream Cleanser

The Body Shop Vitamin E Cream Cleanser

From http://www.thebodyshop.com:
The Body Shop® difference: Vitamin E is one of the best antioxidants to help protect the future of your skin. Antioxidants help protect living cells from unstable little troublemaker molecules called free radicals by providing them with a needed electron. In our best-selling facial cream cleanser, your skin receives a double dose of vitamin E’s antioxidant power. We use both vitamin E and wheat germ oil, nature’s richest source of vitamin E, to moisturize and fight skin-damaging free radicals and protect your skin from environmental impurities.

Best if you want to soften your skin while gently dissolving away dirt, make-up and impurities with a rich and gentle facial cream cleanser.

How it works:

• Vitamin E, a natural antioxidant, moisturizes and helps to protect against premature aging and environmental aggressors, such as pollution and the sun.
• Wheat germ oil—the richest natural source of vitamin E—moisturizes, nourishes and helps to condition skin.
• Organic Community Trade soy oil and Community Trade shea butter work together to soften, refine and restore suppleness to skin.

My Skin Type:
Ranging from very dry to normal/dry. Generally dehydrated, very sensitive.

Packaging:
Functional pink bottle. Easy to travel with.

Texture:
Pink light cream that is very pleasant and easy to spread.

My General Review:
This is one of my favorite morning cleanser. There’s only few cleansers I can use, since I seem to be sensitive to surfactants; they dries me out. Hence the light cream texture is very nice for my dry skin, it doesn’t contain surfactant like SLS or SLES either, so my dry, sensitive skin take this very well, even though it’s fragranced.

That’s my complain about this product. The fragrance is very nice and light, but fragrance-free items are better for sensitive skin. It also contain Benzyl Alcohol, another irritant. Oh well, at least you wash everything off, so it shouldn’t be that irritating. Yes, although it’s a cream cleanser, I’m used to wash everything off with water, not wiping it with cotton.

It cleanses my skin without drying it at all. Of course, as a cream cleanser, it’s supposed to give a comfortable-clean feeling. I’m confused by the facts that some people are complaining that they can’t get get squeaky-clean effect from this cleanser. Well, if your preference is squeaky-clean thingie, you’re better off with a cleansing foam, not cream.

I only use this as my morning cleanser, so I don’t know if it will removes makeup well. I always use cleansing oil as my makeup remover.

Availability:
You can get this easily in Indonesia. In TBS’ stores nationwide of course.

Price:
Moderately priced at IDR99,000 for 200ml bottle. It lasts some for some months (minimum 3 months on me), so the price is quite okay. Much cheaper than my other favorites like Clinique Liquid Facial Soap Extra Mild or L’Occitane Shea Cotton Cleansing Milk.

What Else You Need To Know:
No matter how TBS promotes this as “antioxidant-enriched cleanser”, antioxidants can’t stay in your skin after it’s being washed. It’s pointless to put antioxidants in cleanser. Just take it as mild, non-drying cleanser.

Ingredients:
Water, Octyl Palmitate, Isohexadecane, Sorbitol, Dimethicone, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Sorbitan Stearate, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Cetearyl Alcohol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Methylparaben, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Fragrance, Propylparaben, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, Citronellol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Linalool, Geraniol, Limonene, Citral, Eugenol, Farnesol.

Overall Rating:
4 out of 5. Love every aspect of this cleanser *including the soft pink color! * The fragrance is very nice and mild, but it can be a burden for my sensitive skin. Hence I prefer Clinique and L’Occitane since both of them are fragrance-free and surfactant-free.

*This review will be cross posted in http://www.makeupalley.com under username Crescent_Shadow.